Saturday Betsy was working a double; I spent day at benefit concert,
then grabbed a small ribeye at grocery store. Sauteed some mushrooms in
butter, then the steak in same pan, then deglazed with the 2001 Ch. des
Vallees (Bordeaux Superieur). Had the wine with dinner, the plummy
Merlot fruit had a little edge of earth and spice. Just a hint of oak,
better acidity than some modern inexpensive Bordeaux. A longer finish
and more structure would have moved grade up a bit, but as is a decent
QPR ($9) and a B/B-.

After Betsy's matinee Sunday we headed towards Boston; David had
college visits scheduled Monday at Emerson and BU. We spent the night
in Concord with friends. They brought out some wine and cheese. The
wine was the 2004 Secret de Campane (VDP de la Principaute d'Orange, a
new appelation to me). Lighter Rhone-style wine, raspberry and cherry
fruit. Bright acidity, nice flavors, the big problem is that there's a
hint of sweetness on the finish, and the finish is a bit short. B-

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

DaleW wrote:

> After Betsy's matinee Sunday we headed towards Boston; David had
> college visits scheduled Monday at Emerson and BU. We spent the night
> in Concord with friends. They brought out some wine and cheese. The
> wine was the 2004 Secret de Campane (VDP de la Principaute d'Orange, a
> new appelation to me). Lighter Rhone-style wine, raspberry and cherry
> fruit. Bright acidity, nice flavors, the big problem is that there's a
> hint of sweetness on the finish, and the finish is a bit short. B-

As you may already know, Dale, the city of Orange is very near to
Chateauneuf in the S. Rhone, though the name implies that this wine
comes from somewhere in the former principality of Orange in the S.
Rhone Valley.

Some hysterical trivia: William of Orange, the stadtholder of Holland
etc. who became Wm. III of England was also a Prince of Orange-Nassau.
IIRC, it is because of this historical connection of the Dutch to this
Holy Roman Empire fiefdom that Dutch national sports teams to this day
display the orange colors.

Mark Lipton

On Tue, 04 Apr 2006 14:50:43 -0400
Mark Lipton > wrote:

> DaleW wrote:
>
> > After Betsy's matinee Sunday we headed towards Boston; David had
> > college visits scheduled Monday at Emerson and BU. We spent the night
> > in Concord with friends. They brought out some wine and cheese. The
> > wine was the 2004 Secret de Campane (VDP de la Principaute d'Orange, a
> > new appelation to me). Lighter Rhone-style wine, raspberry and cherry
> > fruit. Bright acidity, nice flavors, the big problem is that there's a
> > hint of sweetness on the finish, and the finish is a bit short. B-
>
> As you may already know, Dale, the city of Orange is very near to
> Chateauneuf in the S. Rhone, though the name implies that this wine
> comes from somewhere in the former principality of Orange in the S.
> Rhone Valley.
>

Courinne Couturier of Dom Rabasse-Charavin (Cairanne) makes
some excellent Principauté d'Orange, and I believe André Romero
at La Soumade (Rasteau) has done so too. Couturier explained
to me that it was the only way she could make a 100% syrah.

Little known appellation, and well worth seeking out! Although
those that I've had have been far from light. I wonder if yours
suggests young vines.

-E
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Emery Davis
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Thanks for info Emery and Mark. I had a vague feeling Orange was in
Provence. At least correct end of the country
I'd be surprised if this was Syrah, I would have guessed Carignan or
maybe Grenache.

On 4 Apr 2006 13:48:22 -0700
"DaleW" > wrote:

> Thanks for info Emery and Mark. I had a vague feeling Orange was in
> Provence. At least correct end of the country

Sadly National Front country, as it happens. They had a NF mayor
for a long time.

> I'd be surprised if this was Syrah, I would have guessed Carignan or
> maybe Grenache.
>

Sorry, didn't mean to suggest it was. I think there's a pretty
open playing field for what cepages go into a VDP, which is
of course why vintners go this way in order to experiment or
do a special cuvée. Your description didn't imply syrah,
either.

-E

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Emery Davis
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